Posted on 09/08/2010 11:04:56 AM PDT by roses of sharon
At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told staff in a morning meeting he "strongly endorsed" the view of his military commanders that any Koran-burning plan could endanger U.S. lives, said a Pentagon spokesman, Colonel Dave Lapan.
General Ray Odierno, the former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said the event would only provoke Muslim extremists and increase threats to U.S. troops.
Two of the top commanders in Afghanistan have said the Florida church's plan risks undermining U.S. President Barack Obama's efforts to reach out to Muslims across the world.
Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay, whose country has nearly 3,000 troops in Afghanistan, said in a statement: "This initiative is insulting to Muslims and Canadians of all faiths who understand that freedom of thought and freedom of religion are fundamental to our way of living."
On Tuesday, several high-ranking Obama administration officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, spoke out against the planned event, and leading Christian and Jewish leaders also voiced outrage.
Actress Angelina Jolie, visiting Pakistan to highlight the plight of millions of people devastated by the country's worst floods, said on Wednesday she "hardly had the words" to express her opposition.
The United Nations called the event "abhorrent" and the Vatican also added to a growing chorus of global criticism.
In Iran, the planned Koran-burning drew protest from a leading cleric. "I along with 1.5 billion Muslims ... condemn this brutal and savage spirit ... I warn about its consequences," Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi-Golpaygani told Iran's Students News Agency ISNA.
"If it happens, Obama should be tried for it and this priest should be arrested immediately and his church must be shut down forever," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at alertnet.org ...
No, lol...I thought I was agreeing with you!
****Looks like we are in the minority here, and that’s sad. I would expect more from Freepers who should see this as the trap it is. The fleet of satellite uplink trunks and throngs of reporters gathering at the sight are not their to condemn one preacher of a small church. They are their to condemn the Christian Church and the conservative movement in general.****
Unless the US is to become like the UK, Islam must be confronted. It seems to me that you dislike the manner of this confrontation. What would be an appropriate manner to confront Islam?
There will always be the leftist press around to denigrate any confrontation of Islam, so why should that be a determining factor?
The group were shot and burnt in their cars, before a cheering crowd dismembered the corpses and hung two of them from a bridge.
The US State Department has confirmed all four contractors were US civilians.
Islam is not a religion it is a government... a deadly government..
Cordoba, Spain was a key city captured by Muslim conquerors who immortalized their victory over the Christian Spaniards by making the city's church into the world's third-largest mosque.
“What is really scary is the post on these threads....too many of them support the Muslims over Pastor Jones. There are some who claim to be conservative that use Alinsky-like tactics to criticize Jones.”
Totally agree. Looks like we have a lot of RINOs or stealth liberals coming here and sounding too libtard. I find it disturbing that so many “conservatives” who have had to endure bible burnings, videos of people being beheaded, flag burnings, art works of Jesus and Mary in urine and dung, would speak out like pissy liberals and come down on the side of leftists who are against this pastor exercising his constitutional right.
Their argument that this will make Islam attack our solders will not work. They are already trying to kill our solders. That is why we are in a war. They attacked and killed 3000 Americans on 9/11/2001.
I suspect that we have a lot of liberals coming here from MoveOn or Huffington and trying to change the minds of those who know better.
You can tell a liberal by the stink they bring. Go to NJ or NY sometime and try to breath the air there. It is fouled up with liberal stink.
No. You have.
Sometimes an adult has to realise that words are not going to work. Sometimes a war has to be fought with the gloves off. Sometimes there comes an end to room for compromise.
You can continue to try to push that reality from your mind, but that will not make it go away.
The koolade is all yours. Other people aren't drinking it.
It is true that not all muslims are violent jihadists, however: Hundreds of thousands if not MILLIONS of muslims are BENT on the destruction of Jews and Christians. Unfortunately, with those numbers and the fact there religion COMPELS them to lie if it benefits the destruction of their enemies, 9i.e. ANYONE who favors freedom over submission to islam0, we do not have the LUXURY of giving the benefit of the doubt to this cult...
I’m aware of that.
What will the excuse be after this blows over? We back down here and they perceive it as a victory and will push even harder for us to be sharia compliant.
Who do you think is pushing this? 0bama is the CinC, he’s on record stating that he will side with the muslims and in this article it is stated that this incident in a small church in the sticks will set back 0bama’s goal of reaching out to muslims. Once again, the administration is showing us which side they are choosing.
He stepped in it big time over the GZM so since that didn’t go so well he’s just using proxies to say what he wants to say. This would have been a non issue had it been ignored.
No. But I am willing to fight a war for all the marbles.
I figured you were, but I had to post it for the lurkers.
But does he have the right...to do it?
He is not shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater, the argument could be made that this expression constitutes “fighting words”, but if that’s the case then we should be able to mack down on anybody that says anything we don’t like about Jesus too.
IMO, the only positive outcome of activities like this is to make those taking part in them feel better about themselves for a while.....nothing wrong with that, I guess.
Really? There was some confusion about whether it was against the law to burn the Koran? Islam is a serious problem that needs serious solutions.
This is nothing but a "symbolic gesture" that the left uses to "raise awareness"... and then they pat themselves on the back for all the "consciousness raising" they achieved.
Interesting that some here, and our government officials, give the Koran a status that American icons (bibles,Flags) themselves do not enjoy?
It's not just chickenshite cowardice. It's because the FRICKIN AYRABS FRICKIN pw3n THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT!!! Think about it, what else explains the constant ignoration of US AMERICANS and the constant bowing down to the slams?
Consciousness of the Constitution is a good thing.
“I agree.....and the media are all over this like flies on “
Yes and I’m sure the media are saying that the pastor has the ‘Constitutional right ‘ to do it - just like the Muslims have the Constitutional right to build their mosque on Ground Zero.
That’s got to be what they are saying because the media are always so consistent and non-hypocritical.
Amazing how events like this come along to show up the left’s hypocrisy though they never see it.
There is another mosque debate here in Katy, Texas. Residents do not want this mosque built because of the speaker tower that will broadcast calls to prayer to be heard around the nearby neighborhood.
Are the muzzies showing their sensitivity to the folks around the mosque that are not muzzie?
Ya see, even though the pastor burning thing is wrong on a few various levels, it IS bringing to light something that most Americans want brought to the forefront.
Islam has and is being given preferential treatment due to this insane PC poppycock.
I wished the pastor wouldn't do it, but i’m thinkin, either way, Islam will be exposed for what it truly is. A violent, intimidating, political ideology.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.